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A week in France walking from Cassis to Toulon - stunning views and great weather. The terrain was fairly easy with beautiful calm, isolated beaches and gentle ridge walking. There were some tough climbs into and out of coves and up to ancient lookout points, initially semaphore and now hi-tech military spaces. These where bookended with the 'psychogeography' of walking into and out of towns through suburbs and areas where man has taken control and ownership of the land.

Extraordinary food and drink accompanied the views, with many plat du jours eaten. A part of France where il floatant is king but closely supported by the cafe gourmand. A particular shout out to the excellent food at Et Bon Vent in La Ciotat @etbonvent. Toulon had an exhibition of Claude Viallat's work which inspired some ideas around flags for the opera I have become involved in/with at Sizewell. The naval museum was devoid of pomp, focusing on the military opportunities connected to the sea. 

At the end a quick trip to Aubusson via train to Marseille then TGV to Crest and a 6-hour car journey to see an exhibition by Matthew Tyson. The town has an excellent tapestry museum with a conservation area where you can talk with the conservers and look closely at what they are up to.  It was fascinating to hear about the choices around materials and colour. I went out to see tapestries in situ in a small chateau out of town.

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A few days in S France round the corner from Marseille. Sun swimming, some walking and great food. Caught up with The Mucem in Marseille on the way back to the airport they had Fashion-Folklore https://www.mucem.org/en/fashion-folklore a show that set out the many  connections between folk costume and couture. Some stunning pieces with great labels. The role of making and ownership, such as community and how they develop traditional costumes verses the individual involved in couture. Cultural appropriation was touched also on. Got off plane in Stansted - drove to Luton and got on a plane to Glasgow to see a Hanna Tuulikki performance in the cathedral - the bird that never flew - beautifully ethereal setting off the glorious space. Managed to check out Alter Altar by Jasleen Kazur at Tramway - a fantastic space but the text for the show did a lot of heavy lifting. After an amazing meal at Celentano’s got the plane back to Luton and finally home. What day is it again? 

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a great day on Saturday working on the art path with the Norfolk and Norwich Festival – as part of my workshop participants were asked what they would create a monument to. The results were generous and thoughtful.  I created several temporary interventions which were sited alongside the ones I ‘found’. The map is of the walk and the images some of my favourite answers to questions.  onto screens – The Mother – we may have been here before. Guy Richie’s The Covenant – a video game. Best Man – oh dear. To Catch a Killer – disturbing comment on why it’s like it is. One Ranger – great to spot local sights, the docks in Ipswich, Suffolk CC offices and a space at Bentwaters, Martlesham. Return to Seoul – a tragic stillness, beautifully shot and so sad. Inside – a biblical parable makes for a strange, distant film, the most fun is identifying the art.  

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Spent a morning walking the route of the Norwich Art Path with the great support team and artists Nicola Turner, Dougie Evans, Daisy Henwood, Liz McGowan and Maddie Exton. The walk will take people on a journey from @norwich castle to @sainsbury Centre. It was inspiring to hear everyone’s ideas and discuss possibilities. Ending up at the Sainsbury Centre meant that I got to see the excellent Empowering Art: Indigenous Creativity and Activism from North America’s Northwest Coast and a very moving project by Julian Stair: Art, Death, and the Afterlife. Both shows give you lots to think about. An afternoon in London of breathing in - a range of shows - some on the plan and others ‘collateral damage’ due to proximity!  Bomb factory - Mat Collishaw - glorious animatronic dystopia. Gagosian - Richard Wright - pattern and books. Sadie Cole - Richard Prince - repetitively darkly witty. Frith st gallery - Polly apfelbaum - playful symmetry. ICA -  R.I.P Germain - like a sinister Mike Nelson. White Cube - Marguerite Humeau - stunning smelling sculptures. More Yayo windows at Louis Vuitton and still enjoying the monolithic, temporary facade at Burberry. Onto screens Rye Lane is a gentle love story around familiar streets - lovely. In the middle of the twisted tale that is Rabbit Hole - dark wft moments. And Station Eleven's bleakness is slightly wearing - confusion reigns. 

walkingandwalkingandwalking

5 days walking part of the Cami de Ronda from Lloret de Mar to Llafranc, then into Palafrugell to get the bus to the airport. This part of the path mostly follows the coast. You find yourself walking through endless deserted small coves, into and out of working towns with one whole day in the mountains and woods. The beaches are tremendous - quiet, wild and empty - just left alone - if another person was there, it was a rare occurrence. Great food - we were in the patatas bravas, fried fish and arroz negro part of the world. It was difficult to eat badly. Warm air, clear blue sea and sky, beaming sun, stunning natural landscapes, interspersed with some amazing man-made sights, the modern cemetery at Lloret de Mar and the art nouveau hotel Diana in Tossa del Mar were particularly stunning. The latest show at The Print Room in Bruisyard has some excellent and beautiful work by Jonathan Keep. The 3D printed pots are exceptional, the mesmerizing forms enhanced by the stunning surfaces. 

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Back from 5 days walking the Cami de Ronda, a glorious 50 miles of beaches, forests and coves interspersed with small scale off the beaten track seaside towns. Fueled by truly amazing Catalan food - there was not a dish that was not bursting with taste. Made extra special by the warm welcoming and really helpful and thoughtful people. It was interesting revisiting the area from a previous long weekend a couple of years ago, walking into and out of spaces changes one’s previous understanding of the area. The whole trip was truly special. Ending via Palafrugell (didn't manage to get to the cork museum this time) and then Girona which has all the elements of an ancient Spanish city – stone, sound echoing/deadening streets, fortified buildings and huge churches. The gloriously timed rituals of eating and drinking are in place and exercised - I will never tire of the 10:30 small beer or starting an evening meal at 9:30 after a siesta.

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New work - after time in the studio. Works that initially explored the space that the structured bookworks I make for the hand. Having found that I have fixed them in time by their solid state I have been looking at re-exploring the element of time through the layers on their surfaces I add and take away. A surprise trip to Wiltshire to check out the set up Messums have in that part of the world, exciting to be on a road trip in a new place to see their great spaces. https://messumswiltshire.com/ Meanwhile walks around my own house are full of the joys of Spring.

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working on new models for the Leicester Print Works workshops, building structures that will relate to the set tasks is a challenge but fun one. Long walks. some films The Little Things – Denzel does his thing, unfortunately nobody else does and the women all appear to be dead. Booksmart – alternative values valued. Bliss – good or bad – unsure.  Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar – insane, in a good way. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3797512/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0  The Paperboy – it’s all there, not in a good way. Lupin, gloriously wry in a knowing way.

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Work in terms of engaging with students on synthetic anatomy at Kings has started, online has made the work more focused and less ‘roaming’ we will see if the experience will be as rich – for both the participants and the teaching team – so far so good. The bookness course at Leicester Print Works continues. There is some exciting work created and even more, so the conversations are positive. after listening to Historian David Olusoga on Desert Island Discs (the most excellent tracks) Fela Kuti - Zombie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj5x6pbJMyU Bob Marley & The Wailers - You Can't Blame The Youth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3pi-6fInng Dr. Alimantado - Just The Other Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay1c_oQUVUg I thought I would check out his work  - a house through time can be watched on iplayer - excellent - check out your history and privilege https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7829950/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_1. American utopia https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11874226/ if you love talking heads and David Byrne you will love this but even if you do not there is much to enjoy. One Night in Miami - icons meet to explore and discuss https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10612922/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 Nomadland – truly harrowing and dysfunctional but lots to learn here Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love – dubious unless you like Leonard Cohen but great landscapes Bridgerton – good frocks in between the sex if that’s your thinghttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt9770150/ finally a desolate portrayal of Oscar Wilde by Rupert Everett in The Happy Prince. Meanwhile in between walking I have become interested in the folding narratives encountered within packaging!

distractionsareimportant

walking through the area around the house has provided moments of relief as the trees do their thing. Revisiting the books on the shelves has led to this collection of images - just waiting for memes to be created. Anyway check out quite possibly the most global experience you will have today - http://radio.garden/search - a site housing on-line radio stations - great interface and the most extraordinary sounds - the whole world comes to you. Jodie Mack has created a body of  interesting films using textiles and her latest, The Grant Bizarre  https://mubi.com/cast/jodie-mack is an extraordinary 60 minutes that will give you fresh insight into textile production. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a stunningly beautiful film - so much of it is about what is unseen and unsaid https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8613070/ here we are notes for living on planet earth https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11692010/ a tear was shed in the house as we watched a child try and make sense of the big questions around and within us, and finally you need to invest some serious time and mental energy with Westworld - There is a moment in series 3 Episode 4 that totally blew my mind!!!

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alongside attending the Private View of the Textile Design student show at CraftCo http://www.craftco.co.uk/exhibitions.html it was a great weekend of walking and watching film.  Silence http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490215/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 is a stunningly relentless beautifully brutal  film which will have you discussing the idea and point of religion for a long time. American Pastoral was a favourite book one summer holiday so the film was going to have to work hard to fulfil expectations. Unfortunately it didn't.   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376479/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 I recommend the book. A week of interviewing potential new students and teaching ahead with a briefing for BA3b at NUA which I have filled with memes and gifs http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/briefing-for-ba3b and then onto Leeds to see some experimental dance http://www.yorkshiredance.com/sketch (looking forward to Christopher Owen - In The Shadow Of The Penis) and also a couple of exhibitions while also dropping in on clerk 37 https://soundcloud.com/clerk37

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just back from a 6 hour walk around Orford, and Chillsford stopping at The Butley Orford Oysterage for lunch - a totally wonderful  no messing great food kind of place that I haven't been back to for years back when it was a regular eating place at the weekend  http://www.pinneysoforford.co.uk/the-restaurant/  the day was so still and the water up to the creak at Butley like a mirror - extraordinary. Ended up walking in the dark past the space where Sudbourne Hall, once owned by Kenneth Clark, used to be! all that's left is the pair of urns denoting where the entrance steps were. http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_suffolk_sudbournehall_info_gallery.html

I want to take a little credit for being a small part of what is a great website created by the final year cohort of the MA Fine Art Course on the OCA - it's a wonderful example of collaborative activity and celebrates the interconnectiveness of the course. A true celebration of creativity http://www.weareconnected.online/ one could spend hours on the site exploring the many possibilities.

meanwhile - The girl with all the gifts http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4547056/ another 'zombie' film - what's with all the zombie films recently? I spent most of it recognising locations - Bentwaters, the airbase down the road served as the base and it does have an intriguing if nihilistic(ish) ending. There's a wonderful insightful interview on Sid and Jim's podcast https://soundcloud.com/artistsandfriends/dont-ruin-the-magic-ft-bob-bicknell-knight with the creator and curator of is this it http://www.isthisitisthisit.com/ although at the moment there is a guest curator called Jake Moor in control of the site.

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I am the morning, you are the light You make the morning such a beautiful thing I am the green grass, you are the rain Fall on me, make me grow -

there has been a lot of walking during this break - especially out in the Estuary around Orford and Aldeburgh.  But I've also 'discovered' the abandoned railway line between Leiston and Aldeburgh thanks to a renewed  interest in the area as a result of the development of another nuclear power station. some great little walks around the area... http://www.mapmywalk.com/gb/aldeburgh-eng/

watching Richard Linklater's trilogy before sunrise, before sunset, and before midnight in one sitting is an 'emotional rollercoaster' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112471/ , http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381681/?ref_=nv_sr_2 and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2209418/?ref_=nv_sr_2 not catching the films as they came out I had missed their individual release's -but this experience was so moving - I was really glad to see them in one go - the references within each of the episodes were a beautiful light touch and the characters journey feels like it must in some way connect to the actors and of course it acts as a mirror to one's own. There has to be more - what happens when their children leave home?

a slice of Jack Reacher takes you to a place that is so familiar that the title Never go back seems a little ironic http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3393786/ if you like the obvious broadcast 20 minutes before it happens this one is for you...

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A weekend of films and walking. The area around the river and reed beds at the mouth of the river Alde is particularly empty and calming the experience marked with a shifting mirrored ever steady space of shimmer under huge skies. The films...... The One I Love http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2756032/?ref_=tt_rec_tt a film that doesn’t quite know what kind of film it is but maybe that’s okay and Trash http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1921149/ a very-its-quite-bad-but-in-the-end-it-will-all-be-okay kind of film. Looking forward to A View from the Bridge – a live premier from the Young Vick with Mark Strong on Thursday at Aldeburgh cinema. http://www.aldeburghcinema.co.uk/  The house rebuilding has a week to go with kitchen, bathroom and toilet still to be rebuilt but at least I’ve managed to repaint all the ceilings. Thinking of having a party!

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building a long walk from several short ones for an excellent day out on Sunday – the landscape around orford on the suffolk coast is really other - constantly shifting with sky becoming land becoming sea.

meanwhile tutorials at nuca with year 3 textiles reveal a range of exciting possibilities and the two presentations i'm giving on thursday will look at researching and developing a practice. http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/researching-the-world
http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/course-seminar-1-defining-practice